Pretty Odd
by Damned Lolita
Summary: Your relationship with your rival can be many things. Pure hate, in some cases, true love in others, and maybe even a family relationship with a few. But no matter what, your Pokemon... how do they feel about your rival's starter? Their old friend?
1. Fancy That

(I think I'm the first one to actually do this. I call it Startershipping; it's the relationship between your starter, and your rival's. It always appealed to me, because I loved Szeren, and she loved Dave, so it stuck with me. He just was a Dave, even if the game just called him Blastoise. You'd say the same thing if you saw him, trust me.

There's gonna be four of these, for the record; one for each generation. Also, the rest are slash. Just throwing that out there. Okay? Got it, good. I don't own.

I'd also like to apologize for the clumsiness this may have. This is my first attempt at a Poke/Poke thing, and since I used Sze and Dave, their relationship is tied up in mine with Blue. So, how'd I do, eh?

And finally, -god, this is long- I finally wrote a story that wasn't T!! Holy lord. I know; swearing to a minimum! Just wait until Hoenn.)

* * *

The Charmander sighed, as she stared out of the confines of her Pokeball. "_When are the trainers coming?" _She asked herself irritably. She looked around her, seeing nothing but a smooth black sphere. She grumbled. "_I hope I get a good trainer."_

She watched, as the doors burst open. A girl with wavy dark brown hair burst in, with a crazed look in her eyes. "_Geez, I hope I don't get her—" _The Charmander thought...

"I WANT CHARMANDER!! THERE BETTER BE ONE HERE, OR I'LL KILL SOMEONE!!" Charmander winced. "_Damn." _

A boy with spiky auburn hair laughed at her. "God, could you be any stupider? Of course there's a Charmander! God, don't be such a girl!" The girl drew herself up to full height angrily.

"Bite me." She said calmly. She sat down, and grumped, until Oak came in. "Blue! Ari! Pleasure to see both of you—" Ari snickered. "Blue? You called me stupid? You're named after a COLOR. Haha, who's stupid NOW?!" Oak frowned.

"ANYWAY. I want you to choose a Pokemon from these three on the table. Choose carefully!" Blue smirked.

"Oooh, look, I'm choosing Charmander—" The girl socked him in the cheek, and grabbed the Pokeball. "Like heck you are." Charmander did nothing but stare at her new trainer.

As she was released, the girl instantly became friendly. "Hello! You're my new Charmander! Do you like the name Szeren?! It came up in my alphabet soup last night!" She squealed happily, picking up the Charmander and swinging her around.

Alphabet soup.

Dear lord, this girl was mad.

Blue grumbled angrily, and chose a Squirtle. He turned to Ari. "Let's have battle to see how good your Charmander actually is!" Ari shot back, "Way better than your Squirtle! Szeren, go!"

She stared at her opponent, a friendly looking Squirtle. All was silent as the two stared at each other. Then...

"He's _bald, fat, _and _ugly." _Ari declared. Then, in a completely happy and lighthearted tone; "I'm gonna call him Dave!" Everyone stared at her.

Blue grumbled. "Squirtle, Pound!" "Szeren, Scratch!" As the two fought, Ari looked at Blue. "If I win, you have to call him Dave." Blue rolled his eyes, but saw she would punch him in the face again, and quickly agreed.

As Ari won, Blue hissed, and typed down Squirtle's nickname as Dave. Ari cheered happily as she left...

But as she left, the two Pokemon stared at each other with a strange sort of longing.

_A few weeks later..._

"Szeren! Use Ember!" "Dave! Water Gun!" Blue ordered. The two sighed, and fought quickly. Situated on the deck of the S.S. Anne, the two vicious rivals Ari and Blue had caught up, and immediately challenged each other to a battle.

"_I hate this. I don't want to fight you." _Szeren told him softly. Dave blinked, but smiled and shook his head. "_Me neither."_ She stopped. Sitting down, the now-Charmeleon stared at her trainer. "_No." _Ari got the message, and sighed.

"Alright, fine. Go! Vita!" The Mew, for once sober, made quick work of Blue's entire team. Fuming, Blue departed, but not before both Blue and Ari swore at each other in anger.

Szeren couldn't help but snicker at Ari's red face, and was only slightly miffed at having to dodge a shitload of thrown items.

Those bottles of Protein were quite heavy, matter of fact.

Once they departed the S.S. Anne, with Blue still on it, Szeren began to miss Dave.

She didn't know why. She barely knew him. And Ari hated Blue with a passion. She was so frustrated that he acted so much better than her.

But Dave was different. Dave was calm, very quiet and careful. He had a certain dignity—in spite of his shiny bald head.

She liked his smile. He always had a smile on his face, even when he was losing. It made her feel happy to look at him, and when he smiled _at _her, she felt—

What did she feel?

She didn't know.

Sighing, she went with her trainer as they prepared to go through the Rock Tunnel to Lavender Town.

When they got out, Ari stared up at the Lavender Tower.

"Poor Pokemon..." She said softly. She nodded to her team, and we set out. At about the second or third floor...

Who should we run into, but Blue. "Hey, jerkface." Ari shot at him. Blue smirked. "Hello, moron." They hissed at each other.

"Prepare for battle!" Both shrieked. Blue tossed out a Pidgeotto. Ari used her Pika to knock him out quickly. Blue frowned. "Grrr. Kadabra!" Ari didn't have a Pokemon with an advantage, so she merely sent out her Paras, Para, and used Giga Drain.

"Oh for god's sake... Dave! Go!" Szeren's eyes widened. Dave suddenly looked... amazed. And his eyes were on her. His mouth hung open slightly, and he pointed to her. Ari seemed to get that Dave wanted to battle Szeren, so she nodded to her Charmeleon.

"_Hello, Szeren. Fancy meeting you here." _Dave remarked, firing off a Water Gun. Szeren used Slash. "_Likewise!" _The two stared at each other for a minute or two.

"Szeren! What are you waiting for?! Use Ember!" Szeren sighed, and obeyed, as Dave lowered his head for a Skull Bash.

"Oh, great! Szeren, hurry up!" He hit Szeren, but she grasped his head, and held fast. She tilted it up so she could see his face.

He was smiling, like this was some great joke she was playing. "_Dave! You stupid idiot, say something to me!" _His smiling as he was getting his butt kicked annoyed her to no end. "_Speak to me, you stupid Magikarp!" _He grinned sheepishly now.

"_Uhh... I love you?" _That did it. She freaked out, and used Slash on him. "_Uh... I... Oh, look, uh..." _He smiled back up at her again, and with a knowing chuckle, he fainted. As Blue recalled him, Ari stared at her Charmeleon. "Hey? Sze? You okay...?" But she ignored her trainer.

Szeren sat down, and stared at the ground in shock.

Dave. Loved. Her.

But he was just probably kidding, right?

Ari knelt down by Szeren. "You okay?" She shook her head. Ari stared at her for a long, long, minute, but said nothing, and threw out another Pokeball, continuing the fight with Blue.

When the two stormed off in a huff, Szeren got her last glimpse of Dave. He saw her, and waved happily. She stared at him for a second, before waving back enthusiastically.

Ari took them to Celadon, where she got an Eevee, and along with her new Vulpix, departed for the Game Corner, the rest of the team hot on their heels.

As it turned out, the whole place was run by Team Rocket. But apparently, good ol' Team Rocket wasn't currently using weapons. Just a bunch of terrible Zubat.

So Ari faced off against a Mafia boss about three times her age, and challenged him to a Pokemon battle.

During all this, he didn't even pull a gun on her. What a strange world, Kanto.

When they had gotten the Sliph Scope, and calmed the spirit of Cubone's mother, they headed back to Celadon. During Ari's battle with Erika, Szeren felt herself... getting bigger.

"She's evolving!" Ari's eyes lit up; after all, Charizard was one of her favorite Pokemon. When she had finished, she made quick work of Erika's Vileplume, and looked down at herself.

...Oddly, she began wondering whether or not Dave had evolved into a Blastoise yet. And what she didn't know is that he had... and he was also thinking about whether Szeren had evolved into a Charizard yet.

It took a few more days, but Ari finally made it up to the top of Sliph Co. And who should be waiting for her there but Blue. He didn't even make his traditional greeting of "Moron, jerkface, stupid girl, etc..." He smiled at Ari, in fact.

"What's wrong with you?" Ari asked him, a weird expression on her face. Blue shook his head. "I knew you'd be here. Now! We're battling to see who gets Giovanni!" Ari agreed, and the battle started.

"Whoa! An Alakazam! Sally, go!" A Haunter flew out of her Pokeball. "Alakazam, use Psychic!" "Shadow Ball, Sally!" The two fought, Sally quickly overpowering the Psychic type. Blue frowned.

"Darn! Exeggcute! Barrage!" "Sachiko! Dig!" The battle was back on, and the two trainers were yelling commands as quickly as possible.

Soon, Blue was down to his last Pokemon. "Dave! Go!" Szeren gasped softly. "_So he did evolve into Blastoise..." _Dave caught sight of her.

"_Dear Szeren! Fancy that, meeting you here!" _She smiled. "_Likewise. Fancy that." _Ari stared at Dave.

"...Ha-ha, he's still bald. And fat. And ugly. ...Hi Dave!" Dave looked down at her, and fired a Water Gun.

"Hey! Blue, your stupid fat Blastoise soaked me!" As the two argued, Szeren turned to Dave. "_Feel up for fighting?" _Dave asked her. In response, she fired back with a Flamethrower.

They had a vicious battle, neither of them giving an inch. But finally, Szeren had him pinned. "_Dave? I have a question for you." _She asked, quite seriously. Dave laughed.

"_Now of all times, eh? All right, shoot." _She blushed a bit, (quite a strange thing for a Charizard to do), and asked, "_At Lavender Tower... did you mean it? When you said you loved me?" _

Dave looked at her, and smiled. "_Yes." _

That was the last thing she heard. She'd fainted.

"Aww, come on! He didn't even attack you! What the heck!?" Ari yelled, pulling at her hair in frustration. "Vita!" The Mew rolled over, and passed out.

"...Did I ever mention I hate this team?" Ari muttered, before kicking Vita.

Eventually, Ari beat Blue. (Vita was eventually kicked awake, and in her hungover rage, unleashed a Psychic on everyone.) Dave smiled at Szeren, still fainted on the floor. "_Well," _He chuckled, "_I don't think that's ever happened when I talked to a girl before." _

Blue glared at Ari. "I'm going with you." Ari grumbled, but complied, and the two burst in, FBI style, and with the element of surprise on their side, knocked Giovanni out.

"...Well, that was weird. Want to go to the Safari Zone?" Blue asked nonchalantly, after receiving a Master Ball along with Ari.

"Heck yeah." The two departed for Fuschia, where to Ari's delight, she caught a Dragonair. To Szeren's delight, she was alone with Dave.

In a display of affection, she laid her serpentine neck on his shoulder. "_We'll have to tell them soon, you know." _Dave grinned at her.

"_I suppose so. But maybe we could get them together." _Szeren pulled away, and raised an eyebrow.

"_Right. Except the two are _rivals, _and they utterly despise each other." _A look of comprehension dawned on Dave's face. "..._Right." _Szeren rolled her eyes, but smiled, and lay down next to him in the grass outside the beach below Fuchsia. Neither of them said a word; they didn't want to ruin the moment.

When the two rivals split up, there were a few tears. "_Please promise me we'll meet again. Sooner, this time." _Dave pleaded with Szeren. She laid her head on his.

"_I promise, love. If I have to move heaven and earth, I will." _Dave bowed his head.

"_I love you." _Szeren smiled toothily. "_Love you too. Now go." _The two departed, and even though both trainers knew something was up with their Pokemon, both refused to acknowledge it.

Time passed quickly. Ari soon beat the entire Pokemon League, and then proceeded to the Elite Four.

With the help of her level 122 Missingno, she annihilated the entire Elite Four.

Until Lance told her she still had to beat the Champion.

"GODDA—" _"Language!" _Szeren scolded her young adopted 'daughter'. Ari grumbled, kicked a statue, and stormed into the Champion's room. She stopped short.

"Oh, come on." She growled. Blue stood there, an arrogant smirk on his face. "Took you long enough. God, just couldn't keep up, huh?" Ari fumed.

"THAT'S 'CAUSE I WAS CATCHING MOLTRES, YOU SON OF A—" Szeren roared. "_Ari! Repeating your father is NOT OKAY, you hear me!?" _Ari groaned.

"Oh for Mew's sake, let's battle. Sachiko!" "Alakazam!" The two sent out their Pokemon, glaring at each other.

The battle was down to the wire. Blue had two Pokemon left; his Arcanine and Dave. Ari had Szeren and Vita.

...Unfortunately, Vita was passed out again.

Ari, foreseeing this, had taught Vita Snore. Vita actually managed to knock out Arcanine with this, and a Metronome that turned into Hydro Pump.

"I actually think she's a better fighter drunk." Ari remarked offhandedly. Szeren and the others—even Blue—agreed.

The two stared at each other. "So. It ends the way it began, eh?" Blue said calmly. Ari nodded.

"Yeah! And just like before, I'm gonna win! Szeren! Go!" Blue yelled, "Dave!" The two stared at each other. "_Well, we meet again. Fancy that." _Szeren grinned.

"_Do you think now's a good time?" _Dave asked. Szeren snorted. "_As good as any, darling." _So the two looked back at their trainers, looked at each other—

And nuzzled each other in an obvious display of affection.

Both trainers stared.

Then Ari said, "Well, this sucks." Blue nodded dumbly. Ari thought this over for a minute.

"Wait... if they like each other... that means they might get married. And that would mean—" Ari's eyes became saucers.

"_No." _Szeren grumbled, obviously enjoying this. _"Yes." _Ari screamed. "I DON'T WANT HIM FOR A BROTHER!! HE HAS _COOTIES!" _She screamed, a childish unearthly howl of rage. "Szeren! Fire Punch!"

Dave groaned. Szeren shrugged. "_Think of it as revenge for leaving me for so long." _And she socked him once with a flaming fist. Dave rolled his eyes, and fainted.

Ari and Blue both stared at each other. "...I still hate you." "Likewise." The former Champion glared back at his four-year-old rival. Their Pokemon stared at each other with soppy love bleeding out their _ears. _

Ari glared at Blue. "Just wait. If we live together someday, I'll be the first to kill you in your sleep." Szeren stared at them, and smiled at Dave.

"_I guess our adventure's just beginning, eh?" _Dave nuzzled her.

"_I suppose so." _And the two, both with giant grins on their face, chorused,

"_Fancy that."_


	2. The Way Things Are

(This is THE longest oneshot I've ever written. Beware. This has a bit of Silver/OC in it, since I'm drawing from my experiences, and I had a crush on him... it's Game!Silver, honestly, not the Special Manga one. –nods- Well, at the very least, I hope you like it. I'm working on everything else, so this is going to be updated whenever I can manage, I promise. I don't own. I will never own, though I want it.)

* * *

Cyndaquil and Totodile were the best of friends!

They loved each other very much!

Cyndaquil and Totodile were test Pokemon in Elm's Lab together. Both took a shine to one another, and both stuck together through all the trainers coming in and taking their other friends.

Chikorita, who Totodile had always had a teeny crush on, was taken by a young boy. This didn't make Cyndaquil sad, but it made Totodile very lonely.

Cyndaquil tried to cheer him up. "_Look at it this way!" _He told his friend, small snout waggling in the air. "_We can be alone together now!" _Totodile sniffled, and nodded.

"_I guess you're right... but she was so nice!" _Cyndaquil nodded. "_I guess... but maybe we'll get trainers soon, To! And then we can train and battle together!" _Totodile was cheered up immensely by this prospect, and hugged Cyndaquil.

"_You're the best." _Cyndaquil smiled, and snuggled close to Totodile before Professor put them back in their Pokeballs. "_I know!" _

The next day, two trainers would come along and seal their fate.

"Holy crow, I'm late! Hey! Mom! My PokeGear!" A young girl screamed. This one had cocoa-colored hair in a short cropped style that waved happily around the tops of her shoulders. She wore a layered neon-pink-and-neon-blue shirt with a Mew pattern on the blue sleeves. Her pants were worn tight jeans, and her sneakers were clunky and green.

In short, she was your average trainer; if a bit of a walking color clash. Only in appearance, though. Mental state...

"If I get a Chikorita, do you think I can use her to shuriken people? Like, dead, I mean." Her mother turned to stare at her.

"...Get a Cyndaquil or Totodile. Just promise me that." The girl grumbled. "Bit—" She was interrupted by her mother shoving her towards Elm's Lab.

She walked up to the door, and saw the most gorgeous boy she'd ever laid eyes on sitting there, peering in through the window.

Her heart exploded with joy. "Hey! Are you getting a Pokemon, too?!" She immediately tried to make friends with him. "My name's Frankie! ...Okay, it's Francesca, but I don't like that. What's yours?" He turned to glare at her. She flinched slightly.

"You don't deserve to know." And with that, he turned away. Frankie's face flushed.

"Fine! Jerkface!" She stuck her tongue out, blew a giant raspberry, and stormed into Elm's Lab.

Silver watched with an amused smirk. "..._Jerkface?!" _He chuckled, keeping an eye on the girl as she rushed up to Elm, red-faced and flushed.

"Hello, Professor." He smiled at her wearily. "Hello, Frankie. Well, we only have three starters left; I just got a new Chikorita, you see. So, have a look!" She looked at all three.

Chikorita did NOT look like a killer. She swore quietly. Aw, man...

Cyndaquil and Totodile stared inquisitively up at her. She smiled. "Hi, little dudes!" They shivered, and clutched at each other. She got the message. "...Professor? Is it possible... I mean, could I take both of them? I'd hate to break up such good friends..." Elm frowned.

"I'm sorry, but it's not possible. I think there's still a few I need to keep behind. I'm sorry." She sighed.

"Cyndaquil, you're really cute. Please, would you come with me? I promise I'll make sure you get to see Totodile again. Maybe we can even travel with his trainer!" Cyndaquil looked up at her.

Could he really do this? He loved Totodile with all his heart, but this girl seemed kind and happy. She liked him very much, he could tell. He looked at Totodile, who nodded.

"_We'll meet again soon, I promise. I love you, Cyndaquil. You're my best friend." _Totodile said softly. With one final hug, Frankie picked up Cyndaquil.

"Do you want a name? How about Rhys?" She asked. Cyndaquil thought for a second, but soon nodded happily. She grinned at Totodile.

"See you soon, Bitey." Totodile grinned toothily at her. Elm gave her instructions to meet a man named Mr. Pokemon, and as they departed for his house, both Elm and 'Bitey' waved as they left. Elm sighed sadly. "Guess it couldn't be helped..."

Silver stared at Totodile with interest. Well.

When Elm wasn't looking, maybe he'd take Totodile and find that trainer... Frankie, was it? He smiled to himself.

Yes, that seemed like a fine plan.

On the way to Cherrygrove, Frankie met a sweet Rattata that she promised to come back for. The way she treated this Rattata reassured Rhys, since she seemed to obviously care for every Pokemon she met.

She waved at Pidgey, petted Sentret, and attempted to fly off a tree and join the Hoppip.

...The last one didn't work, but neither Rhys—or the Hoppip—faulted her for trying.

They met up with Mr. Pokemon after a few quick Pokemon battles. Rhys liked the fighting; it made him stronger, which made him feel better. Frankie met up with both Mr. Pokemon, and the famous Professor Oak.

He looked at her carefully, observing her. He looked at Rhys, and smiled a bit. "Hmm. Tell me, young Francesca—" "Sir, I hate to interrupt, but it's Frankie, sir." He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Frankie. Well, my question was... what do Pokemon mean to you?" Frankie shrugged.

"They're like family to me. Each Pokemon I meet is an opportunity to make a friend, and the ones who love me become the only things I can really and truly trust. So I guess... that's really it, sir." She told him. Oak smiled to himself.

"...I see. Take this. It's a Pokedex; I want you to have it, and make the biggest family of Pokemon possible for me, eh?" She nodded.

"Okay. I'll get to work, sir!" She saluted them, took the Egg from Mr. Pokemon, and ran off back to New Bark Town.

She was almost out of Cherrygrove, until—

"Hey, watch where you're going—you!" She yelped. Silver brushed hair out of his eyes. "Yes, stupid girl, me. Who were you expecting?" She grumbled.

"Jerkface." He groaned. "Look. I want to fight with you. Okay?" She shrugged. "Whatever. Rhys!" The Cyndaquil leapt out, unsure of what to expect. Maybe a Pidgey, or a Sentret—

But he certainly wasn't expecting his best friend to phase out of the Pokeball, staring at him in amazement. He gawped, along with his trainer.

"Bitey?" Frankie echoed, dumbfounded. Silver raised an eyebrow. "So, I guess you got Totodile. Well, okay..." She went to grab a Pokeball, but realized she had none... but Rhys'... She muttered something under her breath.

"Oh no... Rhys, you'll have to fight him." Rhys sighed. Totodile stared at him with his big azure eyes, shining not from laughter, but from tears.

"_Please, Master! He's my friend! I don't want to fight him!" _Totodile wailed at the top of his lungs. Silver's gaze hardened.

"I don't care. Truly, it's a good thing; your friends will mean nothing now. Friendship..." He snorted in annoyance. "What good are friends?" Frankie got annoyed. First, he'd been a jerk to her at the Lab, and now he was being mean to Bitey!

"Well of course friends mean nothing to you, Jerkface! I mean, with an attitude like THAT, they certainly wouldn't like you much, either!" Her temper flared, but she managed to restrain herself in time. "Rhys, please! Tackle!" He looked sadly at Totodile.

With a heavy sigh, the two attacked each other, and with a halfhearted last tackle, Rhys knocked out Bitey. Silver recalled Totodile, and noted the angry girl with a look of interest.

"...My name's Silver. There. You wanted it, you go it. Now out of my way. I've got to go be the best trainer there is, thank you." And with that, he departed with Rhys' beloved friend in his clutches.

"...Frickin' jerkface." Frankie murmured. She picked up Rhys, and hugged him. "I'm sorry about that... I know it was hard." Rhys sighed, and nodded.

"_Not your fault." _She nodded thoughtfully. "I guess... but let's go get some Pokeballs; remember, I promised to go after Ratty."

And so the two began their journey. They didn't see much of the elusive Silver, which left Frankie's temper to bubble and stew, and Rhys' misery increase. Oh, he missed Totodile so much...

And why did he go with that mean jerkface trainer? He could've found a nice one, one Frankie could've traveled with, right?

Other than the loss of his friend, his life was improved drastically in the few weeks he'd spent with Frankie and Ratty.

He'd evolved into a Quilava, which had thrilled the life out of Frankie; she loved them best, she said. But Ratty hadn't evolved; nor did she want to. Like Frankie cared; she'd taught Ratty Flame Wheel and Super Fang, which made her quite a skilled fighter anyways.

He settled into his trainer's arms as they approached Azalea Town, where Frankie challenged Bugsy. With both of her Pokemon knowing Fire-type moves, she quickly won.

As they departed Azalea, they bumped into someone... which happened to be none other than Silver. He stared at her appraisingly, and remarked, "Only two Pokemon?" Sneering slightly, he looked down at Ratty. "And this one. Just a plain old Rattata."

Frankie got angry. Incredibly angry. "Fine! You think she's so ordinary, you fight us, right here and now!" Silver rolled his eyes.

"Psh. I don't even know why I... oh, whatever. Zubat!" He sent out the Blind Bat Pokemon, who fluttered around dumbly for a bit, before echo locating its position.

"Ratty! Flame Wheel!" She charged up, and smacked Zubat, who fluttered in pain. "Now Super Fang!" Silver frowned, as Zubat's HP got cut down to half.

"Use Supersonic." Zubat gave off a weird cry, and Ratty became disorientated and almost drunken in nature. After she walked into a tree, Frankie gave up on her as a lost cause, and threw out Rhys' Pokeball.

Rhys made quick work of both Zubat and Ghastly, and then—

With a small smile, Silver called on Totodile. Or, Croconaw. For he'd evolved, same as Rhys.

For a minute, the two stared at each other.

"Bitey!" Frankie cheered. Croconaw stared at her. "What?" Silver growled. Frankie glared at him. "Nothing, jerkface."

Rhys and Croconaw stared at each other. Croconaw sighed. "_I'm sorry." _And with that, he knocked Rhys out in one hit.

When Rhys came to again, Frankie was swearing in the middle of Ilex forest. "I hate this!" She noticed he was awake, and sighed. "Sorry, sweets. We got out okay; Ratty's Super Fang saved the day!" He sighed, and lay down in the grass.

...That wasn't it.

What was the problem, then?

Was it To—Croconaw? His buddy?

Was he more than that?

A few weeks passed. Frankie finally caught more Pokemon; her Togepi—well, Togetic, whose name was Priscilla, and one more; an Eevee from Bill named Madigan.

She hadn't seen anything of Silver; which was good, considering all he did was insult her. She went about collecting badges, and training Pokemon.

She went to Mahogany Town, finally, to get a Gym Badge before all else. It was there she caught her red Gyarados, who was almost called Piss-head, (it took a long time to catch him), but thankfully at the last minute, his name was changed to Robert.

In the base of the Rockets, once again, Frankie met up with Silver. And he sent out To again, and without orders, Rhys bounded out on the field.

"_To." _(With a long o, for the record.)Rhys said softly. "_Please."_ To stared at him. Rhys stared up into his friend's chocolate eyes. In them, Rhys saw compassion and love.

"_I love you." _To whispered softly. Rhys opened his mouth to speak, and actually managed to stammer out an, "_I love you, too." _

The two trainers ignored this in their arguing, preferring instead to scream at each other. But neither cared—

They had each other now.

Rhys began to glow with happiness—and soon actually found he was glowing on the outside, too.

"Holy crap, he's evolving!" Frankie gaped, dumbfounded. And so was To. When it ended, Silver stared at the two. They were staring at each other, utterly lost in their moment. They'd just evolved, and were still getting used to their new bodies.

"Well, what are you waiting for?! Use Water Gun!" Silver ordered, but To shook his head. "_No."_ Silver lost it.

"You're my Pokemon! Obey me!" He screamed, losing his patience. Frankie frowned. She was getting fed up with this.

"You moron!" She screamed, making everyone jump.

"Is that really how you perceive them!?" She wailed, making crazy hand gestures as she talked. "After all the times I've yelled at you?! Are you crazy?! Why would you make them fight?! They're the best of friends!" And with that, she recalled Rhys, and stormed out.

* * *

After that, she didn't see him for a long time. She got the last Badge, and passed a test given to her by the Dragon Den's Master, and she now had a Dragonite named Irvine.

She'd beaten the Elite Four. It had been almost three years. She'd beaten Red too, and become the greatest Trainer that ever lived.

Still, nothing was ever heard of from Silver.

But she met him again in the oddest of places.

She had finally agreed to Red's pleas, and went back to Ecruteak. He wanted a rematch, he said. She was more than happy to beat his butt for him, but that wasn't the reason she went back.

She went back because she hoped Silver would be there.

Rhys had been lonely, irritable, and a general awful thing to be around for some reason. He was missing To so much. He refused to eat, and he was unable to start fires on the back of his neck.

No one knew what to do.

But he was wasting away.

By the time they'd arrived in Ecruteak, it was too late to meet Red, so Frankie went to the Burnt Tower to pray.

She was surprised, of course, to run into her rival, in here of all places. He was merely sitting on the fragments of the tower, and staring through the ceiling into the sky.

Rhys' eyes welled with tears, and the Typhlosion let out a small sigh.

To was out, and her wasn't speaking to Rhys. Merely, he was staring off in the distance, making not a sound.

Frankie said nothing, just looked down at her scarred and bruised arms, and sighed.

Madigan was gnawing on his skinny black leg. (He was an Umbreon now.) Robert was in his Pokeball, fretting about the 'scary outside world', and Priscilla and Irvine were flying around and crashing into walls. Her Arcanine, Fred, was chasing his tail in circles. Ratty was gnawing on a giant piece of wood.

Silver's Pokemon stared at them, probably contemplating if the death penalty applied to Pokemon murderers.

They descended into awkward silence.

Meanwhile, with the Pokemon...

* * *

"_To? Toto?" _Rhys said softly. He'd gotten stronger, but had gotten more scarred and rough. There was a giant slash across his face, from protecting Frankie against an angry Ursaring. He was nowhere near as pretty as the female Pokemon To could attract. To was unmarred, and perfect. Rhys was beaten-up and... well, scruffy.

...And he also wasn't a girl.

"_Yeah, Rhys. It's been awhile." _To looked uncomfortable. Rhys said nothing, but looked back at his trainer—

She was trying to get Robert out of his Pokeball. So, she was of absolutely no help at the moment.

Rhys' temper was rising fast. "_To. We need to talk, like, right now." _To looked at him, and nodded.

There was no more love in those eyes; at least, not for Rhys.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Rhys' screamed, "_You said you loved me!? Why, To, why?! You never once tried to find me! You said you loved me, and then you left me!" _To looked at him, a heavy, sad bearing in his walk and demeanor.

"_Because... it's wrong. What we feel, it's wrong, I know it. I mean, I mean, well... it's just wrong." _Rhys looked him in the eye. It was now or never. He didn't know if he'd like To's answer, but he had to know, dammit.

"_But do you love me?" _To looked him in the eyes, and for an instant—Rhys saw the loving little crocodile he'd fallen in love with. And it saddened him.

"_Yes." _

Rhys nuzzled him, and felt the warm, smooth skin his head was lying on quiver and shake. To was crying. "_I'm sorry." _He rasped, tearing up as he stared at Rhys. He shook his head, and smiled at To.

"_Don't be." _

To's eyes got wide. "_So you don't think it's... wrong? Or bad? You... you really love me? Me?" _Rhys snickered, a weird chuffling sound.

"_Yes. You. And it's not bad. It's just the way things are." _To had nothing to say to that, and merely lay down by a statue, smiling toothily.

Without a moment's hesitation, Rhys lay down beside him.

Back with the trainers, there was still an awkward silence.

Silver finally glanced in Frankie's direction. "So." He said.

Frankie finally blurted out, "Okay, I love you. Don't kill me!" There was once again, silence.

"...Um. I was going to say, you've raised your Pokemon well. But, uh, I guess that's another way to start a conversation." Silver said, biting his lip. Frankie stared incredulously at him.

"You're complimenting me." She said, voice tinged with awe and shock at this miracle of miracles. Silver nodded, looking slightly miffed.

"Yes. I am. You act like it's a big deal—" Frankie burst in, utterly shocked, and yelling because of it.

"What do you mean!? Of course it's a big deal, jerkface! I mean, hello!? You hated me!! Ring any bells!?" Silver smiled, and took her hand. Frankie almost passed out on the spot. "And now you're touching. My hand. Uh." She chose to shut up, as Silver talked.

"You know, it's been a long time. I went training on Mt. Mortar. And I did some thinking. I mean, I think that... maybe you were right. My Pokemon... they've been through a lot with me. And that means something." Frankie looked satisfied.

"...I told you, jerkface." She said. Silver smirked. She still thought she could get away with that, did she...?

"I challenge you to a battle! Let's see who's still better, after all these years." And with that, he hugged her, and pulled away. Frankie rolled her eyes.

Men. So insecure about their feelings. Well, she'd see to that...

"Go! To!" "Rhys!" There was silence. Frankie spoke up, "Hey, where'd they go? Guys...?"

"You're just too scared to fight me." Silver said proudly. "I am not!" Frankie shot back.

"Are too!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Yah-huh!"

"_...We should probably go out there." _Rhys remarked, watching the two trainers argue. To snorted with derision.

"_And miss this? Not for the world." _Rhys sighed, and lay close to his love. He shook his head, and snickered with mirth.

"_I love you." _He said softly. To nodded.

"_I love you, too." _

The two lay in the Burnt Tower, oblivious to their trainer's arguing. They looked up, and saw the stars glimmering back at them.

"_I feel like I'm over the stars." _Rhys said, looking at To. He nodded.

"_Me too." _

And the stars smiled.


End file.
